Tide and wave power mechanism.



H'. SCHASER.` TIDE AND WAVE POWER MECHANISM. APPLICATION-FILED JUNE l5,19174.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

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` l vf5 THE COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH co.. wAsHlNToN, D. c.

entrain sirarns rarianr caries.

HENRY scriasnn, or sir-:RRA Manen, CALIFORNIA.

TIDE AND XVAVE POVEB MEGHANISM.

i,ivones.

To ZZ 107mm t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY SCHASER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sierra Madre, in the county of Los Angeles,

is a specification.

This invention relates to a mechanism for converting the power of wavesand tides into mechanical energy.

1t is the object of this invention to provide avmechanism adapted to beactuated by the rising and falling of floats by which the variablemovements of such floats are converted into a constant and uniformrotary movement which may be utilized in the generation of electricalpower or for other purposes.

A. further object is to provide 'a mechanism of the above characteremploying weights with a simple and eEective means operated by iioatsfor elevating the weights, and embodying automatic means controlled bythe weights, whereby they will be caused to descend by gravitation, andwhich further embodies means whereby the pull exerted by the descendingweights will be converted into a constant rotary motion. Y

A further object is toprovide a power transmission and generatingmechanism inf cluding a pairl of weights suspended on cables, and drumson which the cables are wound, with means controlled by floats foroperating the drums to elevate thegweights one at a time, and which isso constructed, that one of the weights will be moving up.

ward whilethe other is moving downward,

and involving mechanism actuatedby the downward movingpweight forreversing the direction of respective movements of theweightsindependent of the movements of the float mechanism.

The invention is illustrated ,in the accompanying drawings,.in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view in diagram,

illustrating the manner of assembling and arranging the various parts ofthe'mechamsm in relation to each other. \F1g.12- is a detail sideelevation illustratingthe man- 5' ner of rotating the master wheel bymeans of a float. Fig. 3is a` detail inside elevation ofthe cable drumand the mechanism ,con-f trolling same and` controlled thereby.V Fig. -4is a plan viewV showing the'pairV of drums Specification ofLettersPatent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1,9156.

Application filed June 15, 1914.' Serial N0. 845,080.

and the mechanismfor rotating the drums alternately from the masterwheel, and

showing the mechanism by which the reverse movements of the drums willoperate' to rotate `a drive shaft depicting onel of the ratchet clutchdevices in horizontal section. Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line5-'5 of Fig. 4 as seen in the ldirection indicated by the arrows. Fig. 6is a vertical section partly in elevation on the line `66 of Fig. 4 asseen in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 7 is a detailsection and elevation on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4, with parts removedillustrating the clutch construction. Fig. 8 is a view'in'elevation ofthe lower clutch members as seen on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7 in thedirection indicated by the arrows. Fig. 9 vis a detail Vin perspectiveand. diagram villustrating the mechanism for operating the drivingclutches simultaneously as controlled bythe descending or ascendingweightv to throw one clutch in andV the other out.

-In `carrying out Athe present invention a suitable pier 10 isconstructed and extends a suitable distance from the shore line and isprovided for the purpose of supportingk a drive shaft 11 which ismounted in bear- .teeth 14. Pivotally mounted on theshaft 11 adjacentthe master-wheel 13 is a pair of. oppositely extending arms 15- and 16thev outer ends of which pass through and are slidably engagedi'nslotted frames 17 and 18 carried by floats 19 and'QO .disposed onopposite'sides of the pier 10 and spaced a distance therefrom; thefloats 19V and 20 being of any Vsuitable construction and securelyanchored against abnormal v'move-f ment in any desired manner.

Mounted on the arms 15 and16 and normally engaged with the ratchet teeth14 of the master-wheel 13 are pawls 21 and' 22, which operate as theioats 19. and'Q() rise and fall to rotate the master-wheel 13 andv theshaft 11'; thefloat 19 infrising actuating ment to rotate themaster-wheel, whereas the upward movement of the float 19 caused by therise of the water level on which it is supported will effect therotation of the master-wheel.

The inner end of the shaft 11 carries a spur gear 23 securely mountedthereon which meshes with. toothed wheels 24and 25 disposed on theopposite sides thereof; the toothed wheels 24 and 25 being mounted onshafts 26 and 27 journaled in suitable bearings 28 and 29 carried bystandards 30 formed on a bed plate 3l -as shown in Fig. l. Mounted onthe ends of the `shafts 26 and 27 opposite the toothed wheels 24 and 25and splined thereon are slidable clutchmembers 32 and 33 formed withteeth 34 adapted to mesh with corresponding teeth 35 formed on clutchmembers 36 and 37 rigidly mount-A ed on shafts 38 and 39 arranged inalinement with the shafts 26 and 27 and supported in bearings 40 carriedon standards 4l secured to the bed plate 3l. Rigidly mounted on theshafts 38 and 39 are drums 42 and 43 and wound on the drums in corresponding directions are cables 44 and I45 which pass downwardly arounddirection rollers 46 yand 47, thence extend horizontally under andaround direction rollers A48 and 49 at the base of a tower 50 ,of anysuitable construction; ythe cables 44 and 45 thence passing upwardly andover pulleys 5l and 52 suitably mounted on the upper end of the tow'er50. Secured to `the ends of the cables 44 .and 45 are weights 53 and 54which are designed to be moved upwardly by the rotation of the drums 42.and 43 when said drums are in clutch connection with the shaft 11 androtated by the latter in one direction and .which weights will operateon disconnection of the drums from the shaft 11 to rotate the drums in areverse direction independent of the shaft 1l. Mounted on the shafts 38and 39 carrying the drums 42 and 43 ar-e collars and 56 to which arepivotally connected va series of pawls 57 and 58 which extend incorrespending directions around the periphery of the v'collar and engageratchet teeth 59 formed on the inner faces of annular members A60 and 6lrigidly mounted on stud shafts 62 and k63. The pawls 57 and 58 arenormally positioned .in engagement with lthe ratchet .teeth 59 by.springs 57 and 58 which bear between the sleeves and the pawls.

The stud shafts I62 and 63 are supported in suitable bearings 64 and 65respectively carried on standards formed on the bed plate 3l and mountedon the stud shafts arefpinions 66 and 67 which are arranged ondiametrically opposite sides of a toothed wheel 68 and mesh therewith.as shown in Fig. 4. rlheltoothed wheel-68 is mounted on aishaft `:69carried `in suitable hearings and disposed in alinement with the driveshaft ll; the shaft 69 being provided with a belt wheel 70 around whicha belt 7l passes through which the rotary motion of the shaft 69 can betransmitted to any desired mechanism. In this case the belt 7l is shownas passing around a belt wheel 7 2 on an electric generator 73 by whichelectrical power may be generated and delivered to storage batteries 74,or to any other desired points of distribution.

As a means for equalizing the rotation of the shaft 69 a fly wheel 75 ismounted thereon which is fitted with a brake drum 76 having a band brake77 thereon adapted to be controlled by a governor 78 of any suitabledescription adapted to be driven from the shaft 69 through a gearconnection therewith indicated at 7 9.

The shaft 69 is designed to be rotated continuously in one direction ata uniform speed by the reverse rotation of either of the drums 42 or 43which reverse move ment is effected by the action of the weight 53 or 54connected thereto in moving downward when either of the drums is out ofengagement with the shaft l1 on the throwing out of the clutchconnections; the shaft 69 being rotated through either of the pinions 66or 67.

Means are provided controlled by the weights 53 and 54 whereby theclutch members 32 and 33 are automatically actuated by the weights ontheir reaching either their upper or lowermost positions to throw theclutch member out of engagement with the drum on which is wound thecable connecting with the uppermost weight thereby permitting theuppermost weight to move downward andl unwind and actuate through thecable to which it is attached on its respective drum to rotate thelatter in a reverse direction to that traversed in winding the cablethereon, and which reverse movement of the drum will operate through thepawls 57 and 58 to drive the shaft 62 or 63 through the annular' members60 or 6l according to which drum is reversed and thereby rotate theshaft 69. This means for operating the clutch members 32 and 33 is hereshown as consisting of an arm 80 pivoted at r81 intermediate its ends ona bracket 82; the pivot 8l being disposed on a vertical plane inalinement with the centers of the line shafts l1 and 69 as shown in Fig.4.

The outer endsA of the arm 80 are formed with slots l83 which engagepins 84. carried on the upper ends of the clutch shifting levers 85 and86 having yolres 87 engaging straps 88 carried in channels 89 on hubs 90formed Von the clutch members 32 and 33. Disposed on opposite sides ofthe pivot 8l and mounted on a suitable frame 91 are spring jaws .92 and93 which extend outwardly and engage the arm 80 as shown in Fig. 5; thespring jaws consisting of a pair of plates 94 and 95 spaced a shortdistance apart and having central portions 96 and 97 converging towardeach other and normally engaging the upper and lower sides of the arm80. rlhis arm 80 is preferably tapered in opposite direction from itslongitudinal center on itstop and bottom sides to form inclined surfaceswhich conform to the inclinations of the spring plates 94 andl 95 of thejaws 92.

The spring jaws operate to retain the arm 80 in such position that oneof the clutch members 32 or 33 will be retained in engagement with itscorresponding clutch member, and the other clutch member will be heldout of engagement with its corresponding clutch member, as shown in Fig.4; the arm 80 being then positioned so that the outer end thereof on oneside of the pivotv 81 will be positioned between the plates 94 and 95 ofthe spring jaws on one side of the convergent portions 96 and 97 whilethe opposite end of the arm 80 will be disposed on the opposite side' ofthe convergent portions96 and 97.

r1`he plates 94 and'95 are of such tension as to inhibit the freemovement of the arm.

S0 and insure the positioning of the movable clutch members 32 and 33out of and in. en-

gagement with the respective clutch mem` the downcoming weight will lbedisposed at an upward inclination, and the arm beneath the upgoingweight will extend in a down` ward direction and' in such manner thatwhen the downcoming weight strikes the Yarm therebeneath it will depresssuch arm and operate through the cable connected therewith to rock thearm 80 to reverse its position and thereby throw out one movable clutchmember and engage the other in rela-v tion to their respective clutchmembers,

thereby causing the lowermost weight to bev relevated and permitting theuppermost weight to gravitate downward.

In event either of the weights should reach-its uppermost positionbefore the other weight reaches its lowermost position to actuate theclutch controlling mechanism means'k are provided adapted to be operatedby the upgoing weight to operate the clutch controlling mechanism. Thismeans is here shownl as consisting of a pivoted arm 104 disposedadjacent the upper end of the tower- 50 and Vhaving its outer endsconnected through cables 105 and 106 to the outer ends of the lever arms102 and 103 respectively, as shown in Fig. 9. l

The arm 104 is positioned so that the end to which the cable 105 isattached will be disposed in the path `of travel of the weight 53 whenthe latter is moving upwardly, and the outer portion ofthe arm 104 towhich the cable 106 is connected is positioned in the path of travel ofthe weight 54 when the latter is moving upwardly. The cables 105 and 106are of such length that when the arm 102 is moved downwardly the arm 104will be rocked to tilt the end connected with the cable 105 in adownward direction. Likewise, when the arm 103 is rocked downwardly itwill operate through the cable 106 to tilt the arm 104 in the oppositedirection. The arms 102, 103 and 104 will thus be normally positioned tobe operated either by an upgoing weight or a downgoing weight so as toinsure the operating of the clutch mechanism to reverse the movements ofthe weights when either of them reaches an uppermost or a lowermostposition. f

In the operation ofthe invention, the upward movement of the oat 19 andthe downward movement of the oat 20 will operate vthrough the arms 15and 16 and pawls 21 and 22 to rotate the master-wheel in the" directionindicated by the arrow -afin Fig. 2; the movements ofthe floats 19 and20 imparting a more or less intermittent and variable motion to themaster-wheel and theV shaft 11. The rotation of theshaft 11 operatesthrough the toothed wheel 23 thereV on to drive the toothed wheels 24and 25 in a direction opposite that of the master-wheel 13; the toothedwheels 24 and 25 turning in corresponding direction and rotating theshafts 26 and 27 and the clutch members 32 and 33 Athereon atcorresponding speeds and in like directions..

Assume the clutch member 33 to be in en# i gagement with its clutchmember 37 as shown in Fig. 4' and the clutch member 32 thrown out ofengagement with its clutch member 36; the rotation of the clutch member`32 will then not eifect the clutch member ion 36 and its connections,whereas the rotation of v the clutch member 33 will operate to drive theclutch member 37, shaft 39 and drum 43 to rotate the'latter in thedirectionv indicated by the arrow Z in Fig. 4, and

thereby wind the cable 45 thereon; the wind-A ing of the cable 45operating 'to elevate the weight 54. The clutch member 36' not beingengagedA by the driving clutchfmember -32 will permit the shaft 38 anddrum'42 being- `rotated in a reverse direction byV the action of theweight 53 which exerts apull on the cable 44 in unwinding it from thedrum 42 at a speedjproportional'fto the yresistance of# fered to therotation of said drum. The ro# i Se ich

tation ofthe drum 42 and shaft -38 i-n a reverse direction causes thepawls 57 on the sleeve55 to engage the ratchet teeth -5-9 on the member60 so as to rotate the latter and the shaft 62 on which it is mounted inunison with the shaft 38 and in a corresponding direction. rlhisrotation of the shaft 62 operates through the pinion 6 6 to drive thetoothed wheel 68v and the shaft 69 in the directionindicated bythe arrow-fcin Fig. 4, which is opposite to the direction of rotation of .themaster-wheel 13. This rotation of the shaft 69 operates through the beltwheel 70 to rotate the belt-wheel 72 and the generator 73 through thebelt 7l. At the same time the gears 79 are operated to actuate thegovernor 78 which will operate through the brake 77 to retard anyaccelerated movement of the fly wh-eel 75.

The weights 53 and 54 .areso proportioned to the amount of work or loadimposed on the shaft-69 that a rapid downwardrmovement of the weights isinhibited and an approximately steady pull thereof insured; anyvari-ations in the load imposed on the propelling shaft 69 beingcompensated `for by the governor 78. lVhen-the weight 53 reaches itslowermost position or the Weight 54 reaches its uppermost position thearm 80 will be rocked on its pivot 8l through the medium of the cable 98when a pull is eX- erted on the latter by the downward movement of the.arm 102 which is actuated either by the downcoming weight 53comin-ginto contact therewith or by the upgoing weight 54 actuating thearm `104. This operation of the arm y8O throws out the clutch member 33and throws in the clutch member 32 so that the relativemovements of theweights 53 and 54 will be reversed; the drum 42 in winding 4the cable 44thereon through the action of the floats and relevating the weight 53,while the weight 54 will move downward and operate to rotate the shaft69 through the drum 43, pawls 58, shaft 63, pinion 67 and toothedwheel68.

By the construction and arrangement of the transmission mechanismbetween the shafts 11 and69 the latter will be rotated in one directionirrespective of the direction of movements of the drums in relation toeach other and by the construction and arrangement of the clutchcontro-lling mechanism the movement of one weight in an upward directionand the downward movement of the other weight will be insured, therebyeffecting a practically continuous rotation of the shaft 69 independentof variations of rov tation of the shaft 11.

What l claim is:

l. In ka tide and wave motor, the combination with'a shaft, floatoperated means for rotating said shaft in one direction, a power shaft,.and .means interposed between said shafts, whereby the variablerotation' of the first-named shaft rwill `be transmitted into uniformrotation of the last-named shaft, including a plurality of weights,means for elevating vsaid weights independent of each other controlledby the first named shaft, and means, whereby the weights will operateindependent of each other on gravitating downward to rotate the lastnamed shaft.

2. .In a Ltide and wave motor, the combination with a shaft, a floatmeans actuated by therise and -fall of the ioat for rotating the shaftin one direction, a pair of drums, cables wound on said drums, weightssup ported by said cables, means for rotating the drums alternately`from the shaft controlled by lthe weights to cause one weight to beelevated while the other is descending, a second shaft, and meanscontrolled by the downwardly moving weight for rotating said shaftcontinuously.

3. In a tide .and wave motor, a pair of drums, cables on said drums,weights suspended on said cables,a drive shaft, a :tioat, means forrotating said drive shaft by the float in onefdirection, means foralternately rotating-the drums from said drive shaft to alternatelyelevate the weights, a power shaft, and means controlled through thedrums, whereby the weights moving downward will rotate the power shaftcontinuously.

4. In la tide and wave motor, a pair of drums, cables on said drums,weights suspended on said cables, a drive shaft, a float, means forrotating said drive shaft by the float in one direction, means foralternately rotating the drums from said drive shaft to alternatelyelevate the weights, a vpower shaft, and means controlled through thedrums, wherehy the weights moving downward will rotate the power shaftcontinuously, and means for regulating the speed cf rotation of thepower shaft.

45. In a tide and wave motor, a pair of drums, cables wound on saiddrums, weights attached to-said cables, a .power shaft, means wherebythe rotation of either of the drums on the unwinding of the cabletherefrom will rotate the power shaft continuously in one direction, asecond shaft, iioat means l. i

for rotating said shaft in one direction, means for rotating the drumsseparately from said last-named shaft, and means controlled by theweights for throwing the drums alternately in and out of operative 1'@connection with said shaft.

6. In a tide and wave motor, a pair of drums, -cables wound on saiddrums, weights attached to said cables, a power shaft, means whereby therotation of either of the drums on the unwinding of the cable therefromwill rotate the power shaft continuously in one direction, a secondshaft, float means for rotating Said second shaft in one direction,means v for rotating the drums separately from said last-named shaft,and means oonvIn Witness that I claim the foregoing I trolled by theWeights for throwing the have hereunto subscribed my name this 26thdrums alternately in and. out of operative day of May, 1914,

, connection with said shaft, including a pair HENRY SCHASER.V

of'olutoh members, and means for oppositely Witnesses: shifting theclutch members controlled by n MARGUERITE BATES, the Weights. MARIEBATTEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, Aby addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Y l Washington, ZD. C.

